He leads a group of informal traders called the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET), which boasts of over 43,000 members, of which 4,000 have a University degree.

“We’ve a platform that we launched recently called the Graduate Street vendors Platform, which is a grouping of young graduates, holders of degrees.

“…we also want it to provide training for street vendors so they’re able to do their businesses profitably and become macro entrepreneurs.”

Wadzai is excited about the Mandela Washington Fellowship opportunity, and hopes it will open avenues for him to nurture his tiny hawking business into a big entrepreneurial enterprise.

“It’s one of the best moments in my life,” he says. “I know this will go a long way in terms of improving my capacity as a leader. This is a prestigious fellowship that everyone aspires for.”

Wadzai, who has more than 7 years of experience in Human Capital Development, Human rights, Community mobilization and institution building, will study civic leadership at the University of California, Berkeley.